Russia denies resuming flights to Egypt

Russia is yet to resume flights to Egypt, Russia’s Interfax reported today, quoting the Russian transport minister, Maksim Sokolov.

“We have not yet received any information on this matter,” Sokolov stressed in a conference when he was asked the date of resuming Russian flights to Egypt.

Russia halted charter flights to Egypt’s Red Sea resort cities after a Russian Airbus A321 plane crashed in October 2015 after taking off from Sharm El-Sheikh heading to St. Petersburg. All 224 people on board died as a result of what was classified by the investigation as a “terrorist attack”.

Since the crash Egypt implemented heightened security checks at all its ports. A number of national airlines suspended flights to the Sinai Peninsula as a result, causing losses estimated at $1.3 billion to the Egyptian tourism industry.

Aoun: Lebanon will not pay the price for regional conflicts

In September, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, said that the Russian flights to Egypt will resume operations “very soon” after “flight safety” is ensured by the Egyptian government.

Early October, the Egyptian Minister of Civil Aviation, Sherif Fathy, announced that Egypt has fulfilled all the security requirements for its airports for the resumption of the Russian flights.